Tool workspace consideration for assembly plan generation

Purpose During the design of a new product, the generation of assembly sequences plans (ASPs) has become one of the most important problems taken into account by researchers. In fact, a good mounting order allows the time decrease of the assembly process which leads to the reduction of production costs. In this context, researchers developed several methods to generate and optimize ASP based on various criteria. Although this paper aims to improve the quality of ASP it is necessary to increase the number of criteria which must be taken into account when generating ASPs. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, an ASP generation approach, which is based on three main algorithms, is proposed. The first one generates a set of assembly sequences based on stability criteria. The obtained results are treated by the second algorithm which is based on assembly tools (ATs) workspace criterion. An illustrative example is used to explain the different steps of this proposed approach. Moreover, a comparative study is done to highlight its advantages. Findings The proposed algorithm verifies, for each assembly sequence, the minimal required workspace of used AT and eliminates the ASPs non-respecting this criterion. Finally, the remaining assembly sequences are treated by the third algorithm to reduce the AT change during the mounting operation. Originality/value The proposed approach introduces the concept of AT workspace to simulate and select ASPs that respect this criterion. The dynamic interference process allows the eventual collision detection between tool and component and avoids it. The proposed approach reduces the AT change during the mounting operations.